Day 64
"I'm not entirely sure what happened between you two, but Gu Tingchuan has been asking a lot of lower-ranked trainees for dirt on you. I was planning on giving it to him during my last recording, but... now that I think about it, it's a bit foolish."
"Fu Xunyan, our show will be a complete failure without you."
Zhou Qi's expression was absolutely candid.
"I'm not belittling the abilities of Ye Lai, Da Bae, and the others. I'm not qualified to judge them, but I know very well that as artists—at least artists who have to break through many obstacles to become top-tier artists—they still have a lot of shortcomings."
"Actually, both the production team and the other trainees are avoiding one issue. 'New Century' relies solely on your popularity. Ye Lai is ahead of you? The ranking in the first public performance might have deceived the fans, but the fan support during the second public performance and the comments during every live broadcast won't lie."
"In this situation, destroying you won't do us any good. We'll just sink to the bottom with you."
Zhou Qi felt increasingly frustrated as he realized that none of the ideas he'd had in mind since his first day here had come to fruition. He wasn't the glittering star standing center stage, not the first or second-place winner of the show. Without New Century, he couldn't even make a splash in the entertainment industry.
This is the current situation of the Chinese idol industry.
No matter how much flattery there is, it is all an illusion created by fans. The glamorous guys are protected in glass bottles and enjoy flowers and praise, but they cannot observe the disgust and disdain for them from outside the crowd.
They are not mainstream.
They have to spend much more effort to become mainstream.
Only Fu Xunyan has that kind of power.
Fu Xunyan listened quietly, unable to respond.
All he saw was the sadness of a young man who had just woken up from a dream. Regardless of whether his nature was good or bad, at this moment, he represented the powerlessness of almost everyone on the show.
Zhou Qi's choked voice was slowly swallowed up in the silence. He took a lot of effort to calm down and looked at Fu Xunyan.
"So at least I'm smart now, right? I'm giving this recording back to you."
"Fu Xunyan," Zhou Qi said solemnly, "you have to keep working hard and keep moving forward. I really hope you can become more famous, so that I can have a better living environment."
Fu Xunyan took the recorder. Zhou Qi turned around and was about to leave, but heard a voice "Wait a minute" from behind.
He turned around.
“Snap—”
The boy turned his face away, the redness in his eyes and the shock in his eyes condensed into an incredible question: "What are you doing?"
Fu Xunyan shook his hand, and the rustling sound outside the door suddenly stopped along with the slap, as if it had been hit by him too.
He had known someone was following him.
"You really leave me speechless. I don't mean to scold you, but I really feel like I have nothing to say."
Zhou Qi stammered, not understanding why he was clearly trying to be humble and apologize. Logically, shouldn't Fu Xunyan reconcile with him and forgive him generously?
The young man with fox eyes turned the recorder in his hand, and it broke completely with a snap.
Zhou Qi couldn't help but tremble, feeling as if he was broken in half. In a trance, he saw the big devil with full eyeliner on the first stage.
"I really don't understand you, or rather, your thoughts. If you wanted to become famous, then why didn't you put in the effort before entering the competition? You, Zhou Qi, may lack strength, but it's not like you're completely broken or have no sense of rhythm. You even completed the second public performance smoothly, didn't you?"
"I'm not praising you, but you should also realize that if you work as hard as the second master, your strength will improve greatly."
"But why? You can get the rewards through hard work, but you have to rely on me."
"The general environment is never an excuse, Zhou Qi."
"If you still can't succeed after trying hard, I will admire you. But if you stand in the face of the unknown and fabricate difficulties, and dare not take a single step, I will despise you."
"Even if I become popular, does it really have anything to do with you, Zhou Qi? What? Are you planning to become an internet celebrity after the show ends, and rely on cueing me in the live broadcast room every day to gain traffic?"
"Are you really willing to accept this? Ask yourself, are you willing to accept this?"
"After enjoying the star power of the second public performance, are you really willing to fail on stage? Are you willing to give up all your opportunities and gamble on the value others bring you?"
The surroundings were silent, still, and hushed.
The only sound in the practice room was the beating of a drum, coming from Zhou Qi and Fu Xunyan.
After saying so many words, he took a deep breath, and the light in his eyes flickered.
"You only live once, Zhou Qi. Stay on the right path and run with all your might. Only then will you have the courage to curse the unfairness of fate and the bad circumstances when misfortune strikes."
"Of course, if you succeed, you can proudly stand in the spotlight and share your experience and joy."
Fu Xunyan clenched the two broken pieces of the pen, and the evening light stretched his shadow very long on the wall.
If he had the chance to do it all over again, he would really, truly cherish his life and opportunity more than anyone else, because he knew that not everyone could have a second chance.
Even now, he occasionally wondered if he was in a long dream after death, because everything was going incredibly smoothly, and he was getting everything he wanted in exchange for his hard work.
Whether it is the perfect performance every time, the friendship between good brothers, or the love of fans.
He has no lack of a sense of deservingness, because he can always firmly say, this is what I deserve!
But only occasionally, because of the indelible memory of his first life, he would still doubt which one was the real one.
Zhou Qi was speechless, his hands hanging down as if exhausted.
After a long time, he finally asked softly, "Is it still too late?"
"I came in ninth last time, but everyone knows how I got there. It wasn't me..."
Fu Xunyan stopped him, "You, Second Master, did it."
"You are a member of Cyber Love. Without you, this stage would not exist."
But then, as if he remembered something, Fu Xunyan covered his forehead with his hands with a hint of disgust, and his mood finally relaxed a little.
"Although you didn't take the early training seriously, at least you cooperated with me and completed it in the end. As long as you didn't ruin the stage, I don't hate you."
"I believe the audience won't hate you either. Your fans will see your progress."
"Really?"
His eyes were already wet, and as he raised them slightly, Zhou Qi's expression was so moved.
Fu Xunyan was silent for a moment.
"Woo woo woo, you're lying, aren't you."
"Then I can only speak for myself." Fu Xunyan pursed his lips, "I can only believe on my own behalf."
Zhou Qi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Have you forgiven me?"
"No."
"...You're going a bit too far."
But Fu Xunyan looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You were going to hurt me, and I even gave you more than ten minutes of talk therapy. I'll forgive you for what you've done."
Zhou Qi choked up, and thought about what Fu Xunyan said, which seemed to be true.
Logical genius!
"Then how can you forgive me?" Zhou Qi persevered and followed his footsteps.
Fu Xunyan paused, giving the group of sneaky people time to leave - he thought there were only two or three kittens, but judging by the sound of their footsteps, there were quite a few people.
"I don't know either. Just be at peace with yourself."
Fu Xunyan ignored him.
He really didn't know how to forgive others and let them be punished?
That's useless, it can't make up for the victim's losses. But if we take compensation for losses as the standard, it seems Zhou Qi hasn't had time to cause him any losses yet.
So he doesn't know, and he won't give a deceptive answer to something he doesn't know.
Fu Xunyan did not leave the practice building. Although there was a sports meeting during the day and no formal filming tomorrow, Fu Xunyan had not completed today's training, so he came to the practice room of "Cyber Love", took off his coat, and started practicing from "Thousands of Stars" following the melody.
Including those that were not his performances, he sang them one by one.
Just as Fu Xunyan was practicing hard, a gust of wind blew in the base.
"Did he really say that?" Shao Ruzhou had a complicated expression as he wiped his hair, which had just been washed and was not yet dry, in the bathroom.
"Well, keep your voice down." Another boy lowered his voice, "Don't let Hengyu hear it."
Shao Ruzhou responded, while the boy beside him was still muttering.
"Yeah, when Su Jin and the others came back, they went to the practice building to use the restroom. They happened to see Zhou Qi and Fu Xunyan walk in. They were just about to sit there and watch, but ended up hearing what they said."
"How should I put it? Although I don't like him, I really think this guy is awesome. Not only is he talented, but he's also a very decent person. We both only studied up to high school, so why is there such a big gap between us?" The boy wiped his face in frustration.
"Ah, it turns out that everyone who becomes famous has a reason. Just wait and see, Fu Xunyan will definitely have a bright future. I have never seen such a star-studded trainee. I feel inferior standing next to him."
"People can crush me in terms of personality."
Shao Ruzhou continued, "Hmm." Zhou Hengyu was in their dormitory, so he didn't dare to say much. After the boy finished nagging, Shao Ruzhou wiped his hair half dry.
He opened the door and walked out, but found that Zhou Hengyu was no longer in the dormitory.
"Where did Hengyu go? Wasn't he going to sleep?"
"I don't know. He was still here just now."
Shao Ruzhou's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he heard what they said outside the door?
——I don’t think so…
The next day.
With the announcement of the rankings approaching, the atmosphere in the base became serious. Amidst the undercurrent, many trainees showed obvious anxiety, even more so than during the first public performance.
After this round of eliminations, there will be thirty contestants left on the show, and each person will get more screen time.
Although the possibility of a dark horse emerging at this point is slim, everyone still has hope. Consequently, the number of trainees spontaneously heading to the practice room has actually increased. The filming for the third public performance song selection will begin tomorrow—although the songs for the third public performance were released a week ago and fans have already chosen them. Voting for the second public performance will close in two days, and the second public performance rankings will be announced five days after that.
And starting from today, they will be twice as busy as the previous two days - because the collaboration song with the mentors also needs to be practiced and completed within these two weeks.
Each plan was posted outside the building, which was as terrifying as a death warrant for some trainees.
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